High school baseball: Parker beats Verona, eyes big week ahead

The Vikings scored three of their four runs thanks to doubles and triples, and pitcher Darin Brewster tossed a complete-game five-hitter as Parker shut out Verona 4-0 on the road.

The Vikings moved to 8-1 overall and 7-0 in the Big Eight.

“We had a lot of chances all night, and we left a bunch out there,” Parker coach Brian Martin said. “But we played well enough that the one run in the first would’ve held up.”

Parker center fielder Cullen Osmond led off the game with a triple and scored on a fielder’s choice. Osmond and his brother, Conner, each went 2-for-3.

After adding an unearned run in the third, the Vikings made it 3-0 in the fourth on an RBI double by Cullen Osmond. They got another insurance run in the seventh on third baseman Brennan Olin’s RBI double.

In the field, the Vikings stymied similar opportunities for Verona. Parker turned a pair of double plays, one to end the first inning and another on a grounder to shortstop Zach Bailey in the sixth with two runners on and just one out.

“That was huge,” Martin said. “We had our error in the sixth, and they had first and second with one out and their leadoff hitter up. That ended pretty much their biggest rally of the night.”

Brewster went the distance, giving up five hits and three walks. He struck out three.

“Darin made big pitches to get out of big spots,” Brewster said. “He was around the plate, and we played great defense behind him.”

The Vikings now take their unbeaten league record into a week full of tests. They host perennial state-title contender Sun Prairie on Tuesday before the first meeting of the year with Janesville Craig on Thursday.